Graphical user interface: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:18, 19 January 2003

Revision as of 15:38, 4 February 2003

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The graphical user interface was invented at [[Xerox PARC]] and most modern GUIs are derived from it. For this reason, some people call this class of interface a PARC User Interface (PUI). The PUI consists of [[widget]]s such as windows, menus, buttons, radio boxes, and icons, and employs a [[pointing device]] (such as mouse, trackball, or touchscreen) in addition to a keyboard. For this reason, many people refer to PUIs as WIMPs (Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pointer).

Examples of systems that support PUIs are [[Mac OS]], [[Microsoft Windows]], and the [[X Window System]]. The latter is extended with toolkits such as [[KDE]] and [[GNOME]].

[[X Window System]]. The latter is extended with toolkits such as [[KDE]] and [[GNOME]].

GUIs that are not PUIs are most notable in [[computer game]]s. Advanced GUIs based on [[virtual reality]] are frequent in research.

Similar to GUIs are [[text user interface]]s (TUIs) that display the same types of widgets in a character-cell mode rather than in a pixel mode. Examples include the interfaces of many [[ncurses]] and [[MS-DOS]] applications.

The graphical user interface is generally contrasted with the [[command line interface]] (CLI).

Examples include the interfaces of many [[ncurses]] and [[MS-DOS]] applications.

The graphical user interface is generally contrasted with the [[command line interface]].

Because GUIs and TUIs tend to show most or all relevant categories of commands on the display, users often learn them faster than CLIs, but users with vision or motion [[disability]] often have trouble navigating in a GUI, and most commercial GUIs use at least an order of magnitude more computer power than a CLI, making a GUI unwieldy on older hardware.

''See also'': [[History of the GUI]], [[human-computer interaction]], [[UIML]], [[Fitts' law]], [[Anti-Mac]]